Fashion and beauty lifestyle blog

full lips

I feel like people just give you that judging look once you proclaim that you’ve had lip fillers. It’s that disappointed / shocked look a disapproving parent gives to their child when they prefer chocolate over fruit. Why would you want to change your lips? Don’t you think of the consequences? What if the fillers do permanent damage? I have been asked the above questions, and probably much worse. This post isn’t about justifying modifying your looks, I simply wanted to de-myth some common misconceptions that are correlated with lip fillers. I can also offer my personal experience and advice for those who are considering lip fillers.

Common misconceptions and the truth

1. ‘You’re so young, what if you cause permanent damage to your lips!?’

Rule number one – lip fillers are not permanent. Depending on how you care for your lips after your procedure, they can last between 6-12 months before the safe substances used dissolve into your face. So, assuming you didn’t like the results – it shouldn’t be too difficult to conceal / rectify or even wait until the filler dissolves completely.

2. ‘Don’t they use dangerous / harmful substances?’

The short answer is no. The aesethtic industry has come a long way since silicone was used for breast enhancements. Science continues to change and innovate, and lip fillers are completely safe. Typically lip fillers use Juvederm which is a Restylane facial filler: it consists of hyaluronic acid, which is a naturally occurring sugar found in our bodies. When it dissolves into our bodies, it causes no harm or adverse side effects whatsoever.

3. ‘What if you end up like Pete Burns?’

To be completely and utterly honest, this one is down to personal preference. There are a lot of people out there, who will ask their aestheticians to continue inserting lip filler – even when they are advised against it and told it will look unnatural. These people are the reason why the general public tend to think that getting lip fillers makes you look ridiculous. However, I am proof that you can get them and continue to have ‘natural’ looking lips.

What is it really like to have lip fillers?

My personal experience with lip fillers (I have only had them once, and been longing for more ever since) was nothing short of great.

The first thing you need to check is that you are using a legit and registered aesthetician. I would recommend Harley Street practitioners generally, or a reputable company that you can easily research beforehand. Often, Wowcher has amazing deals for lip fillers; and they work with reputable practitioners.

Secondly, I picked an amount of lip filler that I was comfortable with. 0.5ml for my first insertion, and the results were pouty yet natural.

In regards to the actual injections, they are tiny and you will have a numbing cream applied to lips before your procedure. I won’t lie to you, the numbing cream doesn’t numb. When the needle is dragging through your skin you can feel it. It’s uncomfortable, but it certainly isn’t intolerable. Your surgeon should make you feel comfortable, you’ll be laying down (probably with your eyes firmly closed!). And because I only had the smallest amount available injected into my lips, it didn’t take too long either.

The recovery is simple, so long as you keep the area clean and moisturised the results will last longer. You are advised that bruising and swelling can occur afterwards; but I was lucky in that sense. My lips healed well and I was very satisfied with the results. It has been around one year and a half since I had lip fillers, and only now I can see the effects have disappeared completely.

It’s a worthy investment if you plan and execute the procedure sensibly. Like anything in life, a little often goes a long way.